State wrestling: Broomfield sits third in 4A entering final day

Eagles advance three to championship matches

DENVER -- Drew Romero is typically one of the most collected wrestlers on Broomfield's roster. But Friday night, the senior had his juices flowing.

It showed in his Class 4A state semifinals match with the 113-pounder recording a pin against Collin Williams to continue his run to a third straight state title. But it was not the crack at individual glory that had the senior so fired up in his match against the Thompson Valley wrestler -- it was what happened immediately before.

The Eagles have been gearing up to reclaim the Class 4A state title for the first time in three years. But that goal hit a major setback right off the bat Friday night, with 106-pound Darek Huff losing in his team's opening semifinal bout.

"We are going to refuse to let this take our title away," Romero said.

Huff's loss was heartbreaking, in part because it came off a four-point swing in the dwindling moments of the match. But it also had the Eagles dragging due to what it meant in what has turned out to be an extremely tight team race.

Broomfield entered the evening session leading in team scores, but the team's 106-pounder fell to its next closest competition at the time. Still, any momentum Discovery built off Sam Turner's win over Huff was short-lived.

"The state tournament can have some weird turns," Broomfield coach Joe Pereira said. "Yeah we had Huff go to the backside, but Discovery Canyon had its 170-pounder head there as well. So some things have a way equalizing out."

The way things shook out at the end of Friday wrestling was Discovery Canyon led, with Windsor in second and Broomfield in third team-wise. Despite trailing heading into Saturday, Pereira was optimistic about his team still making a run to its first title since 2010. The coach moved eight wrestlers to Saturday's action, more than enough firepower from his perspective to gun down a championship.

"If you get seven placers that's been enough to win it the past couple of years," Pereira said. "It's taken six the past two years."

There will be some key matchups for the Eagles finalists with Romero matching up against a Windsor wrestler for his championship and 145-pound Phil Downing against Discovery Canyon's for his. But the key, the way Broomfield's coach calculates it, is his team has to take care of business coming through the consolations.

"If we're within four points of the leader by finals we can definitely do it," he said.

Even if Broomfield misses out on a team championship Saturday, it is setting up to crown some pretty impressive individual champions. The Eagles' 170-pounder Zach Stodden is going for his first title, but Romero and Downing are each hunting down their third.

Romero's last title came with Broomfield, but his first came when he wrestled at La Junta. Downing, on the other hand, has the chance to be the first wrestler to win all three championships with the Eagles.

Even with such impressive personal high points on the horizon, Friday night the team was still stewing over how to pin down a team championship.

"We've worked hard all season, we feel like we've earned a shot at this one," Stodden said.

Follow Elwood on Twitter: @ElwoodKShelton

CLASS 4A RESULTS

DENVER -- Results Friday from the Colorado Class 4A state high school wrestling tournament held at Pepsi Center. Complete semifinal results are available online at BoCoPreps.com.

Broomfield's Zach Stodden, left wrestle's Air Academy's Caleb Cuneio during their 170-pound semifinal match at the state tournament on Friday at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
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DAVID R JENNINGS
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